Blackest Night
Episode 5, Season 5 of War. Enjoy <3 Blackest Night If you'd asked me a few moons ago if I'd ever thought I'd be leading a squad into battle, I would have laughed at you and asked who gave you the catnip. But here I am now, pelt slicked with mud, giving orders as if I was just breathing. "Okay, I need Adderscar, Oakclaw, and Stormflight to hold off the EarthClan patrol. I'll be out to join you in a minute," "How are we supposed to-" Stormflight starts, only to be shoved by Adderscar. Oakclaw gives me a pleading look, "But what about-" I ignore him. "Snowflight, can you stop them?" The white she-cat looks at her paws, scarcely breathing. "I can try," she says, quietly. "Then try," I nod and she slips out of the den. Stormflight gives her a longing glance, but she doesn't look at him. He stares after her until Oakclaw practically drags him out of the den, towards the EarthClan patrol. I turn to Grayleaf who's crouched over Gorsefur. I focus on the medicine cat's green eyes and not the fact that Gorsefur's are closed or his breathing is shallow or the blood soaking the moss beneath him. "Is he going to be okay?" Grayleaf looks uncertain, but he nods. "I have cobwebs and moss to soak up the blood, but I could use some herbs. I'd say we have a few hours before this gets critical." "Thanks," I nod and turn to go. I'd considered saying goodbye to Gorsefur, but Stormflight didn't get a goodbye, Oakclaw didn't get a goodbye. I don't need one either. Pelting after the toms, I catch up with them around the time the EarthClan cats come into view. They're huge, muscled and lean. I gulp. We couldn't beat them even when we had Snowflight and Gorsefur with us. How can we do it with just us four? I realize the toms are all looking at me and I say, mouth feeling dry, "We can't loose guys." They nod. I know it's not really a winner, as far as pep talks go, but I don't know what else to say. Gorsefur would say something inspiring. I just tell them what they already know. The EarthClan cats howl and I brace myself. I am a ghost. I am a hunter in the darkest night. I am snow and ice and anything but fire. Snowflight took deep breaths and tried to ignore her shattered thoughts. Poetry wouldn't help her. I should have been born in WaterClan. No matter how hard she shoved that thought away, it stuck with her. It was true, after all. If she was WaterClan, her white pelt wouldn't be a strange happenstance. Her name would make sense. She could be with Stormflight. Shadowsong and Lionwing were all fire. Snowflight was ice. She loved FireClan, but it would've been so much easier that way. They were in front of her now. The three she-cats formed a triangle of sorts. Snowflight had grown so accustomed to standing beside Lionwing it felt lonely now, to be the one standing alone. "Come crawling back?" Lionwing asked, her voice veined with frost. Snowflight tipped her head, something she knew annoyed her sister to no end, and considered Shadowsong. The black she-cat was looking past her, towards the cave. Snowflight couldn't read her expression, but something had changed. Whatever light she used to have whenever she thought about WaterClan was dimming. She looked like Lionwing. "Snowflight," Lionwing growled. Her voice remained angry, but her eyes were petulant. "Are you coming back?" It would be so easy. "I can't," she finally said. Surprised to find more words pouring out, she let them, like water over jagged rocks. "Lionwing, I'm not happy. Not by a long shot. But I'm happ''ier''." Lionwing lurched back, like she'd been smacked. Her teeth bared and she looked at Shadowsong, "Let's go. Once we finish with her we can take care of the others," Shadowsong gave a jerky nod. Snowflight felt a sheet of dread fall over her, "Don't," she said softly. "Scared I'll beat you?" Lionwing taunted. It was an empty threat- ever since they were kits, neither of them had ever been to beat the other. But Shadowsong tipped the scales. Snowflight said nothing, she just crouched and unsheathed her claws. Lionwing's eyes were furious, but Snowflight could see all the betrayal locked inside. When they were kittens, they'd swore oaths that they would always be best friends and do everything together, just like sisters should. Snowflight didn't want to attack her sister. But she wasn't surprised when Lionwing lunged. Despair sticks in my stomach, like a rock dragging me to the bottom of the river. We're losing. The EarthClan cats have pushed us back so far that the cave where Gorsefur and Grayleaf are is only a couple fox-lengths away. Not to say we haven't been trying. We managed to send two of the EarthClan cats yowling away, and a third lies unconscious somewhere in the fields. But it's still four on four and they're stronger than us. I slash a she-cat, muscles burning. She spins away, into Stormflight who bites her in the shoulder. She shrieks, but claws at his back. He lets go, stumbling away. She takes a breath and throws herself at him again. We can't win. But we have to. Oakclaw's doing okay against the commander, and Adderscar is running circles around an annoyed looking brute, but Stormflight's still down and all of us are exhausted. We're going to die. This is how it ends. No glorious sacrifices, no heroics. Cut down on some grubby little field. I open my mouth to yowl some encouragement, when a fierce battle-cry splits the air. I close my mouth, feeling a moment of delirious confusion. Did I do that? A golden shape leaps at us, tackling the EarthClan commander. For a moment, I think that Oakclaw has somehow duplicated, which dismays me, because, honestly, one Oakclaw is more than enough. But it's not until a shadow detaches itself from the bracken and joins the battle that I realize who it is. Shadowsong and Lionwing. But why are they helping us? And where's Snowflight? The EarthClan commander, his nose split and bleeding, ears torn, caterwauls and they back away, snarling. I hiss weakly back, resisting the urge to collapse and sleep for a moon. I hear a purr and lift my heavy head to see Lionwing with her whiskers twitching. Her fur is barely ruffled and her eyes are bright. She looks like some hero from an elder's tale, the light of battle lighting her eyes, which, despite their brightness, are a little...off. "Run," she whispers. My tongue feels like wool, but I manage to ask, "What?" Lionwing looks like she's going to laugh again. Thundercloud was a sadistic monster, apparently he passed it on to her. StarClan knows how Snowflight turned out okay. "You don't really think we drove them off to help you?" she sneers and looks at Shadowsong. "You were right about them." She looked back at the WaterClan cats, as if surprised they were still there. "Well go on, I'm giving you a five minute head start." "Why?" Adderscar asks, eyes narrowed in such a way you can tell he's thinking. "Because," Lionwing sighs, like it's obvious. "I hate you. I want this to be fun. Besides," her eyes glint, "I know I'll catch you." How do we get ourselves these enemies? Does StarClan just randomly pick a squad every few moons and say 'Them, let's make their life dirt.' I stumble away from the FireClan she-cat and Shadowsong. Reluctantly, the toms follow. I have to find Snowflight, hopefully she'd still alive, and try to hide Gorsefur and Grayleaf and maybe then we can win, maybe we can win. maybe we can- I'm so tired. I'm so tired of running and being chased and everything. Maybe, at this point, losing would be a relief. Shaking that thought away, I lurch into the cave, "We have to go," Grayleaf, bless him, doesn't ask. He just grabs Gorsefur, trembling a little under the weight, and heaves him outside. No one's talking, but I see the quick glances, the twitching tails. They're terrified, and they have a right to be. It'll take a miracle to get us out of this scrape. Stormflight suddenly darts forward, crouching over something. I hear his soft call, "She's alive!" Snowflight mutters something and I see her white pelt, strained with dirt and blood, but moving, as she scrambles to her paws, wincing. "Why'd she leave you alive?" Adderscar asks, looking perplexed. I feel the same way- Lionwing doesn't strike me as a particularly sentimental breed of psychopath. Snowflight shakes her head, but finally mumbles, "She said she was going to come back. After..." she trails off and we continue walking, into the forest. Stormflight presses against her and she purrs weakly. It's been fives minutes, I'm sure of that, if nothing else. I look over to where Grayleaf is still carrying the semi-conscious Gorsefur. I'' will ''see him again, I promise myself. We won't lose, even though the odds are definitely stacked that way. We won't- Lionwing flings herself into me with such force that I knock down Grayleaf, who's walking next to me. We roll into a tree and he groans. I stand, quickly, "Hide," I tell him. He nods, looking terrified, and starts to drag Gorsefur away. I dart back to where the others are yowling. I would have expected Shadowsong to at least look uncomfortable, but she doesn't. At least she's not really attacking anyone, just defending Lionwing, who whirls around, laughing. As Stormflight holds her attention, Adderscar goes in for a stomach swipe, only to be shoved away by Shadowsong. He crashes into a boulder and doesn't get up. Snowflight tackles her sister and I lunge for Shadowsong. Stormflight rushes to help her, but Oakclaw hovers uncertainly. "What are you doing?" I hiss, glaring at Shadowsong. She looks anguished, but her voice is steady. "You don't know what it's like. At first I thought I was doing this to save you all from her, but what if I'm like her? What if this is how I'm supposed to be?" She's acting the way she thinks she's supposed to act, I realize. How do I remedy that? How do I- I let out a shriek as Shadowsong throws me off of her. Her claws are sheathed but the strength still sends me trundling through the forest, until a tree gets in the way. I let out a whimper of pain, feeling like me back's broken. I curl in on myself, trying to hold the pain in. Blackness starts to close in on me and I panic, lashing out, trying to swim out of it. But the pain is too much and there are too many shadows and finally I let myself fall, praying that I'll wake up. Oakclaw let out a yowl of warning as he charged towards Lionwing. He could see she was planning on feinting, but he doubted Stormflight or Snowflight noticed. They charged at her from either side. It was a decent strategy- forcing her to choose which one she would block and which one she would let crash into her. Unfortunately, she rolled out of the way at the last moment, and Stormflight and Snowflight hit each other. They cursed and struggled to untangle themselves, claws caught on fur, limbs stuck under each other. Lionwing added towards them and Oakclaw moved to intercept her, only to be hit from the side by Shadowsong. Rolling, tussling like the used to, he couldn't shake the feeling that this was all normal. Just the two of them, fooling around. But her eyes were full of hate and he remembered the terrible things Lionwing had half-manipulated him into saying, when he didn't realize she was listening. He'd said he hated her. Her claws dug into his belly and he threw her off. She skidded on the ground, disappearing into the bushes. Oakclaw turned, seeing Lionwing still crouched over Snowflight and Stormflight. With a yowl, he leapt at her. He could kill her. They were the only two left standing, he could do it. He slammed into her and they tumbled over and over. Managing to pin her down, he went for her throat, but she sliced at his nose and then they were both up and snarling, circling each other. "It must eat you alive," Lionwing growled, "That she wants to kill you. That she hates you." Oakclaw hissed and slashed, cutting her on the forehead as she rolled away. "It must suck for you to know you had to manipulate me to get her to stay," Lionwing yowled in fury and jumped at him. He went to move out of the way, but he was distracted by a dark figure padding out of the forest, eyes fiery. Shadowsong. By the time he turned his attention back to the battle, Lionwing was pinning him to the ground. He struggled, but she was surprisingly strong. "And here everyone in FireClan was going on about how good a fighter you are," Lionwing smirked. "Firestar would love it if I brought you back..." her claws glinted in the air, "But I think I'd rather just kill you myself." Oakclaw ignored her, looking at Shadowsong, "Did you hear what she said?" Her eyes were on her sister, but he thought he saw the faintest hint of a nod. Lionwing dug her claws into his stomach and he bit back a cry of pain. Shadowsong stood, emotionless and Lionwing ignored her. Until she said, barely audible, "You lied to me," Lionwing looked up, her eyes pained, "Can we talk about this later?" It was the wrong thing to say. Shadowsong stalked forward, until they were nose to nose, "You made me leave the cats who might as well be my family. You've threatened everyone I love and you almost made me think that maybe I was your sister because I was just that awful." "Please..." Lionwing wasn't begging, but she was slipping that way. "Look at him!" She glared at Oakclaw. "He said he hated you. I don't. Stay with me. I'm your family, I'm your sister." "I'm not doing this for him," Shadowsong spat, and Oakclaw flinched at the poison in her voice. "I'm doing this for me." Lionwing started to protest, but Shadowsong barreled over her. "You wanted me as a sister so bad Lionwing. So why would you go and do the one thing you promised not to do, the one thing that was keeping me with you?"'' "They killed Thundercloud," Lionwing whispered. "You killed Thundercloud!" Shadowsong shouted. "You're crazy and sick and sadistic and I can't believe Snowflight left you before I did! The only reason I came with you was because I thought we were the same. I thought I deserved you. But we're not the same." "You can't leave!" Lionwing shrieked. Her eyes were crazy, full of madness and delusion and hate. Shadowsong just straightened up and gave her a sad sort of smile. "I thought I was FireClan. Evil. I thought I deserved you, it was a punishment. But the truth is, you don't deserve me." She was so quick Oakclaw couldn't see what happened, but Lionwing was slumping to the ground and Shadowsong was standing over her, looking down at her half-sister. Oakclaw got to his paws, aching and stinging all over, "Shadowsong-" "You and I are not okay," she meowed, low and fierce. "Don't ask. We can't be in love if you hate me sometimes." I was joking, it wasn't true, she manipulated me, I love you, excuses ran through his mind, but all he said was, "So you're back?" "Yeah," Shadowsong said, not taking her eyes off Lionwing's still form, "I'm back." Shadowsong wanted to kill Lionwing. But Snowflight had asked them not to and Gorsefur refused to kill a helpless cat, no matter how crazy and evil she was. When I stumbled back into the woods where we'd fought, relieved that my legs still worked and I was still breathing, Shadowsong and Oakclaw were sitting a fox-length apart. The tension in the air crackled and I muttered something about finding Gorsefur and Grayleaf and darted off. Now we all sit in a loose circle, cobwebbed and wincing, but alive. And far away from the forest we left Lionwing in, almost half-way back to Main. Stormflight says good night, claiming he has a headache. Wordlessly, Snowflight follows him and they pad off to where we lay out our moss. Grayleaf takes one look at Shadowsong's stony expression and darts off after them. And then it's just us. The only five left of the original squad, all of us as changed as the seasons since we started out together. It used to be summer, with all of us in love and happy and laughing. Now fall was coming and we were all dark, personal storms churning inside of us. Adderscar is the first to leave. With a glare at Shadowsong, barely veiled disgust in his eyes, he stalks off to the nests. Oakclaw opens his mouth to say something, but Shadowsong just follows the ginger tom, taking a nest on the edge of the group. Closing his mouth, Oakclaw stands and walks into the forest. Gorsefur and I sit together, quiet until everyone else is fast asleep. "I didn't know it would be that hard," I whisper. After all the adrenaline got out of my system, I was practically catatonic thinking about how close I'd come to dying. How close we'd all come to dying. I'd 'gone hunting' and found a quiet clearing in the forest where I'd sobbed and shuddered until I felt like I could stand again. Gorsefur just nods. Cobwebs swath his side, and even though he slept for an entire day, he still looks tired. I don't tell him I can't handle it and ask not to be second again. I didn't enjoy being responsible for everyone's lives, but I know Gorsefur needs someone to lean on. And to be frank, so do I. Pressing against him, I nod to where Shadowsong lays, "What are we going to do about her?" Gorsefur sighs. "I just told Waterstar she was MIA. So there's no problem with her joining back up." "That was smart," I meow, impressed. As long as no one talks about Shadowsong's sister, she can come back and everything will be just like normal. Well, as normal as it gets. "I'm just worried about her," he says softly. I give a purr of sympathy. "She could have killed Waterstar and I'd still take her back," Gorsefur continues. "But I just don't know if she's going to forgive herself." "She made a mistake," I say, halfheartedly. It's too late and I hurt too much to try and figure out what I feel towards Shadowsong. "We all do." I don't respond, just curl against Gorsefur and try to forget how it felt to know that I was going to die. Category:Artimas Hunter's Fanfics